Shattered
by Riddle-Master
Summary: AU Kenshin a supposed buisness man, Kaoru a waitress, though neither are what they seem, death is what future was to hold for them at the hands of one another, orders start to sound distant and future is only a lie; everything they know maybe shattered
1. Chapter One

Riddle-Master ~ Konnichiwa!!! Okay peoples, we are trying something new . . . Chibi Okami and XxSilentWolfxX are trying to write a fic together . . .(I put that in third person to reduce confusion . . . I am Chibi Okami incase any of you cared, XxSilentWolfxX might write the next author's note, but it is my turn now!!! *XxSilentWolfxX whines about how Chibi Okami stole the comp*) Now, anyways, this shall be interesting because me and her are two completely different writers, see Xx is a romance and drama writer and a grammar freak, while romance makes me, Chibi, sick. I write all angst and action and am a detail freak that despises grammar. So this will undoubtedly have all elements, and lots of twists and turns, so sit back and read!!! Oh, I forgot, you need to enjoy and review, and if you no enjoy, review anyways and tell us why!!! So until the author's note at the bottom, Ja Ne!  
  
Disclaimer ~ Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, We don't own Kenshin , But neither do you!!!  
  
Shattered  
  
Chapter One  
  
A figure walked down the alleyway, no light shed upon the being except the far off light that illuminated the streets behind him, though it had slowly shrunk and the shadows of the alley and buildings on each side enveloped it into a small existence. The wind could not make it through the small area of the alley which stretched only to people wide, causing the air to be stale and old. When he looked up the night sky moon, nor the twinkling stars that would have been looking over the world from above were visible, the alleyways covered it up, but even outside the alleyways neither were visible for the city lights shone too brightly and blocked the small wonder that everyone took for granted. It was as though the beings that inhabited the city were afraid of such a wonder, or left it behind like an ungrateful son leaving his mother. The brick sides of the apartment buildings on each side of him were engulfed in graffiti. Big bold letters danced around him, as though they were trying to intimidate him, though nothing could intimidate the man. This was his mission and he planned on completing it, despite the shouts of the graffiti telling him to turn around.  
  
The man walked through the alley his worn combat boots stomping soundlessly against the hard ground and his long midnight black trench coat blowing behind him because of the fast pace by which he walked. His baggy black pants sagged nearly to the ground, though they did not touch, he had to sew them higher himself, for if they dragged they would become a hazard because of the constant dangers of tripping and making excess sounds. His dingy white shirt was worn and tattered; on the very front was a crimson red cross that could have been mistaken as a hand-painted blood-smeared cross. His red mane was tied back into a high pony-tail which trailed the man and his piercing eyes scanned every nock and cranny of the alleyway as to not miss any vital information this alley may hold. Though the most mark able detail the man held may have very well been the cross shaped scar on his cheek.  
  
Suddenly his brisk pace came to a halt and a silent curse emitted from his mouth. Footsteps sounded behind him and he mentally hit himself for being so careless, he should have been more cautious. Instinctively he slid his hand into his trench coat where the gloved hand met with a metallic surface. His fingers ran over the cool metal with full knowledge of the entire surface he was touching. His forefinger slid forward and reached into a cranny where he felt a familiar spot, the trigger of a gun.  
  
"D-don't move!" A voice behind him called out. He could hear the rattling of a gun in the person's hands. "I will sh-shoot! I will!"  
  
The man sighed, this was going to be much harder than it had to be, a man held a shaky grip on the gun, much more dangerous than someone who knew what they were doing. A man in fear with a shaking gun was much more unpredictable and dangerous.  
  
"H-hands in the air. Do it! Now!" The voice demanded. The man was forced to obey. He was the one with a gun to his back, there was nothing else he could do.  
  
"Who told you?" The man's voice was calm and even. There was no sound of fear or doubt, he wasn't worried. If he died he's be relieved of pain, though he'd much rather live long enough to make up for his sins.  
  
"Why the hell should I tell you? The Battousai?" The voice spit the word from his mouth as though it left an awful after taste in his mouth.  
  
The man shrugged. "You have no reason at all, and you are right, I don't deserve an explanation." The Battousai said truthfully before his voice turned harsh and cut across the night air with a harsh command. "Shoot me."  
  
"What? Are you insane?" The man's voice showed surprise, causing the Battousai to sigh.  
  
"Did you not hear me? Shoot me. That's why you have a gun in your hand, is it not? Put me out of my misery, it is cruel to make me wait like this without even knowing when I will be shot in the back. Not even I do that to my victims. So shoot me already." He knew this was unnerving the man, he hadn't actually thought about shooting someone, the man most likely never wanted to shoot him, he only held the gun out in fear.  
  
"I-I can't . . ." The man's voice came out in a squeak, though he did not lower the gun.  
  
"Oh, so you see it is much easier to have others kill for you than to do it yourself. Big difference there, but it has the same result." The Battousai commented to the man. "You can't kill me, but others can, so why not send them here tonight instead of you, you did, after all, know this was coming."  
  
"Y-you killed them before."  
  
"Oh, yes, I remember now. You sent them to me before."  
  
"SHUT UP! You are the assassin, not me!"  
  
"Yes, we know that, though you have killed many through others, so we are alike, aren't we?"  
  
"I am nothing like you!" the voice called out.  
  
"Oh, how so? You didn't sound very confident."  
  
CLANG  
  
The gun was dropped to the ground. "I am not." The man then took his chance, he flung himself around and whipped the gun out from inside of his trench coat. He faced the man who looked at the ground.  
  
"I am sorry." The Battousai muttered before he pulled back the trigger.  
  
---*---  
  
pit pat pit  
  
The rain poured down from the sky in a furry. The red-haired man was quickly soaked from head to toe and his distant eyes focused on the ground. It had started to rain right after his mission had been completed. He had no hood on his coat or hat to keep the rain off of his face. His fiery bangs matted to his face because of the rain hailing from the sky and it poured down his face, creating a look much like that of tears. His feet dragged along the ground as he walked, he may have been walking in reality, though his mind was far off in a distant land.  
  
Every time, every God-forsaken time. Why did the Gods hate him so much? Why were they eternally punishing him? He had never wanted to kill, never, yet that was what he did for a living. He was the famous assassin, the Battousai. He hated the way he talked to people as he had before, he absolutely despised it. Though that was what he had been trained to do since he was a small child. They figured he's loose his conscience; that it would stop bothering him after so many kills, but it didn't. It scarred him even more. With each kill the more he forgot who he was, and in a way, that was a relief, though it was also another pain to add to his collection. If he ever lost himself completely then the years of killing would have brought onto him the same thing that the men who had trained him had been counting on. A loss of conscience and a loss of guilt. Though he refused to give that up, that was the only thing that kept him human. He may be loosing the fight, but he wouldn't give in.  
  
He sighed and looked up. A glowing sign illuminated the cloudy sky and written in bright letters was the word 'Quake'. He then entered the doors to the smoky bar. It was nothing special, just a place for the regulars to go. There were about five tables on the right side of the entrance with three or four chairs at each. The wallpaper was a dingy blue and peeling, and the ceiling was turning yellow from all the cigarette smoke over the years. There was a stage at the far end of the room with over three inches of dust on it, for it had not been used since the bar had first started out and the neighborhood was still a nice place to live with little crime. Now it was filled with low-class people struggling to get by and was a key place for drug-deals to take place.  
  
He looked over to the bar, only to notice a new waitress hovering around the bar-tender. He knew she was a new waitress because he was a regular at this bar and had taken the time to figure out who all the workers were, he didn't want to take the chance that one of them could be a spy or someone after him. He had looked up all their backgrounds and checked to make sure that there wasn't anything suspicious about them. He made a mental note to do a check on her when he got home, until then he would have to be careful. It's not that he was afraid of her; it was that he didn't trust. He had learned not to trust anybody; people aren't always what they seemed.  
  
She was talking to the bar-tender about something and she kept glancing at him, making him realize how sloppy he looked. He probably appeared as though his wife or land-lord had just kicked him out. He had walked into the bar sopping wet, one would have thought that others besides the one girl would have noticed him, and they did, they just didn't care. Everyone who was there at this time were regulars, they knew how he acted and none of them dared to ask him why he looked as he did. They all knew just to ignore him when he didn't want to talk to them and when he did that they should listen, but until then, they wouldn't bother with him.  
  
He shook himself out of his thoughts and once again turned them to the new waiter. She was a very attractive woman and he was a bit embarrassed by his appearance. She smiled kindly towards him and he walked over, nodded to show that he knew about her presence. He started walking in her direction as though to meet her halfway. She thought he was going to start a conversation with her but he just walked past her to the bartender.  
  
"Yo, Kenshin!" The bartender called out. "What's up buddy?"  
  
"Oh you know, SSDD." The Battousai answered.  
  
"Yea, I know what you mean, same stuff, different day." The bartender agreed. "Hard day at the office?"  
  
Kenshin nodded in response.  
  
The new waitress looked over at the bartender and mouthed 'the office' with a questioning expression on her face.  
  
"Yea, the office. Kenshin works at. . . actually, I don't know where he works." Sanosuke turned his head back to the sopping wet man at the bar. "Where do you work?"  
  
Scrambling in his mind to dodge the question, Kenshin turned to the waitress. "What's your name?"  
  
The waitress thought for a minute. She didn't trust this guy yet, but the bartender knew her name so if she made up one, he would correct her or the red-haired man would know she was lying. She mumbled. "M-my name's K-Kaoru." She cleared her throat and tried again. This time she spoke loud enough for the whole bar to hear. "My name's Kaoru."  
  
The red-haired man in the trench-coat was a gentleman, even if he was an assassin, and took the woman's hand. "Glad to meet you."  
  
"Same." She replied.  
  
He released her hand and turned to the bartender once again. "What'll it be?" The bartender asked. "The usual?"  
  
The man with the scar on his check nodded and the bartender poured him a glass of sake. He gulped it down and asked for another. The bartender poured with a smile on his face and Kaoru walked off to assist a customer. He had been trying to get her attention for several minutes now and she had noticed before, but just didn't move because there was something mysterious about this man, and it interested her.  
  
Kenshin asked the bartender for yet another glass of sake and the bartender poured it. Kenshin went over to his usual table and sat down. It was the one closest to the stage and farthest away from the door. He sat there all alone. He drank up his glass right as the new waitress came by.  
  
"Would you like another?" She asked politely.  
  
"Yea, thanks." He answered. After about six rounds, the bartender came over to Kenshin, he knew Kenshin and that he could hold his sake very well without getting drunk, but he didn't usually drink as much as he had tonight.  
  
"Is anything wrong?" The bartender asked. Kenshin didn't say anything he just sighed. He then got up and walked to the door where he paused. He looked behind him and walked out the door. He hadn't worried about paying first because the bartender thought he had a business job and he didn't get paid until the end of the week. Every Friday evening, he paid the bartender for all his drinks over the week.  
  
---*---  
  
Kenshin walked down the street quietly and calmly. The air was becoming colder and the fog was limiting his vision. Though the fog covered the streets, from the lack of sounds he knew the street was empty. The fog's small droplets of water stuck to him, making him wet and a shiver to run down his back. The buildings on the other side of the streets had their lights off, after all, who would be up at 3 AM? Not counting drunks, idiots, and, of course, assassins every now and then.  
  
Where he stayed was only a little ways away and he would be there soon. His work had been continued after the bar and he had not enjoyed a single moment of it. He now just wanted to go home and go to bed. He had no reason to stay out anymore, his work was done, that is, until tomorrow.  
  
End of Chapter One  
  
Riddle-Master ~ YAY! I get to do the author's notes this time! This is XxSilentWolfxX, the other writer besides Chibi Okami, who wrote the last author's note. As you may have been able to tell, when Kenshin walked into the bar and the dialog was all congrats to me!*Chibi Okami in background muttering something about how dialog sucks and should die* *Chibi Okami now gets smacked by XxSilentWolfxX* Chibi Okami wrote the fight scene (I don't like fight scenes) and was the one behind all the lovely scenery paragraphs. Yes, I did say paragraphs, she tends to go overboard with the details. *Chibi Okami waving flags and shouting out to the world the good wonders of detail* Oh shut up! She really truly talks too much. Okey dokey then, until the next chapter, TATA! Oh! Don't forget to review!  
  
This is Chibi Okami and I learned something this chapter! XxSilentWolfxX is a walking, talking, thesaurus! You decide if that is good or not . . .  
  
XxSilentWolfxX~ But out of my author note! You had one at the top! Oh, and I discovered I hate this laptop we are using and it's possessed mouse! 


	2. Chapter Two

A/N~ Hey, XxSilentWolfxX here. Chibi Okami did the last intro so now it is my turn! YAY! I apologize for the wait; I have been ill and couldn't meet up with Chibi to write the next chapter. I still have a cough, but no more blistering fever! YAY!  
  
Thankies~ First we have to thank all the reviewers, Ayane and Rachel get one cookie each, and Phoenix Wonder and VolleyGurly get two cookies. They added Shattered to their favorite stories list. Go them! I would also like to thank Phoenix for complementing my bar-scene, I know, wasn't it wonderful. LOL! Okay, so hear are your cookies. *reaches for cookies but Chibi beats her to them*  
  
Chibi~ My cookie!  
  
Silentwolf~ Give me the cookies!  
  
Chibi~ NO! They are mine, I made them myself!  
  
SilentWolf~ Okay I give in, you can have the cookies. Don't worry, I'll go get some right now, you don't want Chibi's home-cookies. Trust me, I know. *gets more cookies and passes them out*  
  
Chibi ~ *eats cookies and dies*  
  
SilentWolf~ *crowd cheers, she is finally dead* *Chibi Okami sits up* Darn! She is still alive, even though she is not able to keep her cookies down, that's not pretty. Let's write the chapter now.  
  
Disclaimer ~ We no own, you no own, you no sue, we no have money.  
  
Shattered  
  
Chapter Two  
  
"Why can't I have the job?" Kaoru screamed into the phone. "I am fully prepared to handle this!"  
  
She paced back and forth across the room, her feet pounding against the carpet, though the carpet of the small apartment cushioned the blow of her feet and made the stomping of her feet softer. The room was small, it was a part of a three roomed apartment; it contained a bedroom, a bathroom, and a living room connected to the kitchen (one room). The apartment was a cheep one, with her low paying job she couldn't afford anything else. The once, what she guessed was white, carpet was covered in numerous stains - some red, and some other unpleasant colors, it was safe to say the carpet was no longer white. The yellow walls, which she thoroughly despised, were also riddled with marks and dents here and there, nothing in this apartment was the color it used to be. The kitchen cabinets and counter tops had long since lost their nice wooden shine, and the tile was even cracked in places. The bathroom was the same, though the sink-tops had a strange color toward the corners that had Kaoru worried. It was amazing how much you could despise a room because of it being miss-colored.  
  
"I need this job!" The raven-haired girl boomed. "I have been waiting for an opportunity like this now you aren't going to let me have it?" The person on the other end said something and she slammed the phone down in fury. She was enraged, how could they do this to her? She had waited so long!  
  
Kaoru stomped back over to the tile floor area that marked where the kitchen was, still cursing at the person on the other side of the phone, and yanked open a cabinet door. She grabbed a glass and poured tap water from the kitchen faucet in it. She examined it and saw floating bits of minerals from the well-water. The girl groaned and poured it out deciding it was best not to drink it. Instead she grabbed a soda from the fridge: diet, of course. The young-woman sighed at the sight of her near-empty fridge. If only she would have listened in home-economics; if only she could cook. Feeling hunger pains in her small stomach, she walked out the door of her apartment and headed for the closest drive-thru fast food chain. She was in a hurry.  
  
---*---  
  
Blood. It was everywhere. It surrounded him, enclosing him within the warmness of the liquid. It reached at him, pulling him down farther and farther into the darkness. He struggled, but he was no match for its strength, and he slowly descended into the abyss.  
  
"Hey, wake up." A faraway voice rang in his ear. They sounded so far off. If only he could reach them . . . "Kenshin, wake up!"  
  
At the sound of his name his eyes fluttered open and he looked across the room. Instinctively the gun that was constantly attached to his hand flew out in front of him and his fingers curled around the metal in the same fashion they had been trained to since he could hold a gun. Three fingers and a thumb on the hilt, and his fore-finger on the trigger ready to pull back at a moment's notice.  
  
He looked over the metallic luster to see a woman in his view. Her long black hair dangled to her mid-back and her pale skin seemed to glow against the dingy purple of the bedroom. Though her ice blue eyes (A/N I am not sure if they are blue or not, if I am wrong, feel free to tell me) seemed to see straight through Kenshin.  
  
"Good Morning to you, too, Ken-san." She smiled at him, her red lipstick making her white teeth look even whiter.  
  
"Megumi." He muttered to himself and quickly pulled the gun back into his lap. He had once again been sleeping sitting up next to his bed. He was on the opposite side of the door behind the bed, as though he had been hiding. His legs were crossed and his hands, folded in his lap.  
  
His amber eyes scanned the room, just as he had been trained to do, from his low position his eyes met with a dingy bed - never before slept in since the previous owners (it had come with the place) - perfectly made without a wrinkle in the white covers, possibly the only thing that retained it's natural color in this room. The walls were red, though there were areas that were miss-colored due to the toilet from the place above him overflowing and leaking through the floor - his ceiling. Yes, he lived in an apartment, a small, crappy, apartment, and one with awful neighbors to boot. The couple across from him could never get along, there was constant bickering between the two of them, and they seemed to stop caring if the neighbors heard or not.  
  
He took his eyes away from the room and down to the gun in his lap. It was a long gun, one that could be used at a distance, though also at close range. The gun was a black color, and on the side written in silver was the phrase 'With Death, There's Always Rebirth'. And Needless to say, that was how the gun got it's name - Rebirth.  
  
"New Mission?" Kenshin questioned the lady as he stood up, stretching as he did so.  
  
"Yes, there is. But before I do give it to you, I must once again remind you it is not very good for you to sleep sitting up! You should use your bed, Ken-san!" She yelled at him before he shot her a glare.  
  
"What's the mission?"  
  
"Ken-san! You know before you go I must make sure you are alright! So what's the point of getting the mission before I make sure you are okay to go?" She protested.  
  
"I didn't get hurt last night." He told her. "I don't need your help." In truth he didn't believe that he had the right to be helped. Not after all he had killed. He didn't deserve anything - except to be in pain. That much he felt he deserved.  
  
"I am your nurse!" She pouted. "The agency sent me to make sure you were okay and this is the thanks I get?"  
  
"I said I was fine. Now what is the mission?"  
  
"Fine, here's your mission." She said, tossing a brown envelope to Kenshin.  
  
---*---  
  
Kaoru dashed across the street, running as fast as her feet could carry her. That had taken longer than she had planned, if she didn't hurry she wouldn't make it to work at the bar on time. The street lamps turned on and she cursed once again. She was fired, she was so fired . . .  
  
'A car.' She thought as she ran. 'I need a freaking car! If only I got paid enough to buy one . . .'  
  
Her feet pounded on the pavement and as soon as she saw the glowing sign 'Quake' she rushed inside. She ran to the bar where she met Sanoskue, the bartender, and muttered an 'I'm sorry I'm late, I will work especially hard tonight to make up for it.' She told Sano this because he was the manager, too. They didn't have many workers - just Sano and herself. She started to go back to the back to get changed, but Sano called her back.  
  
"Kaoru! Come here." He said, waving her down.  
  
"What is it, Sano?" She questioned as she hopped back to him.  
  
"What the hell happened to you?"  
  
"What do you mean what happened to me? Nothing happened." She said matter-of-factly.  
  
"Something happened alright. What is that from?" He asked, pointing her face.  
  
"Huh? Something's on my face?" She questioned and raised her hand to her face where he had been pointing. She quickly pulled it back in pain. She then remembered what happened before she came; she had been so preoccupied she forgot about it. "Ouch, I guess I got a bruise."  
  
"NO SHIT!" Sano roared. "A big one at that! Now, tell me what the hell happened?"  
  
"Nothing, I-I just fell." She stuttered to try and come up with an answer.  
  
"Kaoru, I won't buy that shit, now tell me. Is your boyfriend beating you or something?" He asked her seriously.  
  
Kaoru took a step back and held her arms in front of her. She also managed to put a smile on her face like it was a joke. "Of course not, Sano! Where'd you get that idea?"  
  
"Kaoru . . ." He started, but was cut off by the girl.  
  
"Look! Here comes Kenshin, I better go get changed, I'll be back in a minute." She didn't give him the chance to reply before she ran to the back.  
  
---*---  
  
THE END OF CHAPTER TWO!!!!  
  
Sorry this is so short, peoples. Silent has been sick, as you may have noticed from above and I can't write this without her, she would kill me! And now I am sick of writing - I have been writing a different fic with her, too. It isn't completely finished . . . as in, I haven't finished my part . . . so more writing . . . oh joy! I never thought that I'd get sick of writing, but oh well, I am going to try and get the other fic (it is an Inu-Yasha fic) done, too . . . soooooo that's all for now, we should have another chapter next week! AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!!!  
  
~Chibi Okami (Riddle-Master with XxSilentWolfxX) 


	3. Chapter Three

Riddle-Master ~ This is Chibi Okami and I get to do the thank you's this time! BWAHAHAHAHA! Now, first order of business . . . cookies . . . *pulls cookies out of hammer-space* These are FOR ME!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Sure Silent made them for reviewers, but like I am going to give up cookies! *Silent walks over and hits Chibi over the head* Why are you so mean to me, Silent? Fine . . . here you reviewers go . . .  
  
Cookie to: VolleyGurly, Phoenix Wanderer, Badgirl 03, , and 817. You people need to put names or pennames on these things so we can give you cookies.  
  
Disclaimer: If we owned Kenshin, we would own Kenshin! *Silent daydreams* How cool would that be?! I want Kenshin NOW! *cries*  
  
Chibi- We'd better move on to the story now. *TWACK! Silent gets hit with a sketch book and starts to scream and yell* *Chibi cowers in corner afraid to come out*  
  
Silent- We are now continuing to the story.  
  
Shattered Chapter Three  
  
By: Riddle-Master  
  
Kenshin walked into the musky bar. Even though it hadn't been raining, he was drenched in water, or was it sweat? Kaoru really couldn't tell. He was wearing his same every-day outfit that consisted of his black pants and long, black trench coat. He was wearing a different shirt, this one was tattered as well but it was red, a blood-colored-red. Nobody could tell if it was indeed blood or just the color or his shirt, but as soon as Kaoru saw it, she felt a shiver creep down her spine. 'It's his shirt, defiantly his shirt' she thought to herself. 'Why would a. . . business man? yeah, a business man is what he is. Why would a business man be drenched in blood?' She was almost positive it wasn't blood; she was almost a hundred percent sure . . . almost. She decided the best way to find out was to somehow feel his shirt . . . somehow. 'Oh god, how can I do this without him getting suspicious?' she questioned herself. 'Oh I know! The trick that is most believable, the one Sano has seen happen to her a million times, FALL!'  
  
She waited for him to order a drink. He did his ritual, he went to talk to the bartender, ordered a couple of drinks at the bar (something Kaoru couldn't serve), and then sat down. When he sat down, he already had a drink in his hand, and for some reason, he wouldn't drink it. He just sat there and starred at it. Kaoru walked over to him, gathered up all her courage, and plop. She tripped herself on her own shoe, purposely of course, though she had enough practicing with the real thing to make it look good. She was heading for his back, where he wouldn't be able to catch her, but at the last second, he stood up, turned around and put his extended arms out stopping her from falling on him by grabbing her shoulders. He noticed the large bruise on her face, but said nothing. He released her shoulders, turned around, and walked out the door of the awkwardly quiet bar. She stood there with a dumb-founded look on her face and cussing going on in her head.  
  
He left her there, just left, she didn't even get time to say 'thank you' or even worse, see if it was or wasn't blood on his shirt! She cursed a few times and then looked down at the table he had previously occupied. There on the table sat a wallet. Kenshin had forgotten his wallet . . . what a great reason to go and find where he lives . . . and maybe see what was so strange about this guy.  
  
---*---  
  
Kenshin walked, he never drove a car for some reason; the agency would gladly give him one if he asked or accepted any that they sent to him, but he didn't all the same. Therefore he just walked down the streets, boots pounding against the hard concrete. The Battousai realized he was being followed. He quickly turned around and spotted Kaoru. The expression on his face showed he was shocked to find her walking behind him.  
  
Kaoru was the first to break the awkward silence. "You . . . ummmm . . . you forgot your wallet," she said nervously. She held out the wallet for him to grab.  
  
Kenshin took the wallet. "Uhh . . . thanks." he replied quietly.  
  
"Bye then. . ." Kaoru spit out uncomfortably. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."  
  
"Good bye Miss Kaoru," he said happily. Just then they heard the thunder roll. It started to drizzle then turned into a full downpour.  
  
"Oh great, it's raining," Kaoru commented sarcastically. "The bar is 3 miles from here too!" She turned and started to head back toward the bar.  
  
"Uhh . . . Miss Kaoru?" Kenshin called after her. "Would you like to come to my apartment for tea or something? It's just around this corner." Kaoru hesitated, after all, going to a strange man's house late at night didn't sound all too good . . . but after a few seconds of contemplating, she decided that she would go anyway. She didn't know this man all too well, but for some strange reason, she trusted him. Also, if worse came to worst, she could defend herself, she had been trained to take down men three times her size, though, Kenshin looked relatively puny . . .  
  
"Sure, why not?" She smirked. "It is better than running to the bar in the rain."  
  
Kenshin took off his coat and handed it over to Kaoru. "Here, take this. It is a bit wet already, but it may help some."  
  
"Kenshin, I couldn't take this from you." She said holding out. "You are in the rain, too, you need it."  
  
"I am used to being in the rain, it doesn't bother me anymore." He shrugged.  
  
"Really?" Kaoru questioned. "Why are you always in the rain?"  
  
Kenshin shrugged once more. "I have my reasons."  
  
"Please, take your coat." She handed it out to him.  
  
"No, I gave it to you to keep you dry." He said determinedly.  
  
"Well, you know what? It's too late for that; there is absolutely no point in wearing it at all anymore." She said, poking at her thoroughly soaked shirt.  
  
"True." He said, a smile slowly forming on his lips as he took his long trench coat back. "Follow me." He turned and headed toward his apartment. They walked silently through the rain until they reached a building. They climbed up the metal steps until they were at the third floor. Where Kenshin pulled her to the side and showed her the door to his apartment. He twisted the key in the lock and opened the door and she was met with a rather run-down apartment, though her own was not any better, at least his was clean.  
  
Red walls, weird . . . She thought being the girl that she was and feeling the awful clashing colors were putting her in pain. Yellow carpet . . . the horror. Kenshin went into the kitchen to make some tea. He came back a few minutes later carrying a tray with a pitcher and two coffee cups. They had chips in them and were rather dingy. Talk about cheep china. Oh well, I guess cups didn't really matter to some people.  
  
Kenshin walked over to a dingy, beat up, yellow couch. The cousins had holes in them and the corners of the arms had cloth missing from them. In front of the couch was a small table. Kaoru wasn't really sure what it was made of, but she knew it was oak or any other fine wood. It had water rings all over it. Kaoru was about to burst out 'it's called a coaster' but stopped herself. That would have been just plain rude. Kenshin motioned for her to come over and sit by him. Kaoru walked over checking the ground before she stepped. She didn't want to step on a rat and ruin her shoes. Sure it was clean, but it was so old and in such a run-down neighborhood she just couldn't be sure. She sat down next being sure to keep at least a foot of space between them. You never know with men.  
  
"Would you like a cup of tea?" Kenshin questioned. He reached for the pitcher and poured tea into one of the beat up coffee cups. Kaoru could tell it used to be red because of the few specs of paint left on it.  
  
"Of course," she answered while grinning. "That is why I came." She accepted the cup gratefully.  
  
"Good point." He smiled back at her. He then poured himself a cup and they both sipped at their tea. Kaoru was searching her mind for anything to say. She hated awkward silences and would much rather be talking.  
  
"Where do you work?" she inquired as sneakily as possible.  
  
Kenshin hated that question and searched for a way to dodge it. "Oh no! I forgot!" he exclaimed. "You're still wet! Let me go get you a towel." Kaoru started to object but found it futile when Kenshin jumped off the couch and ran to the closet. He searched for the nicest towel he could find. Yeah, right, like he actually had a nice towel. He grabbed a dark blue towel. At least this way the stains would not show. He hurried back to the other room. Poor Miss Kaoru must be getting cold. He handed her the towel. She took it and dubbed her wet waitress uniform. It was partially air-dried but was still a little wet.  
  
She decided to try the question again. "Where do you work?" she asked, a bit more obviously this time.  
  
Of course he couldn't answer that question until he thought of a place, but one would just not come to his head. "Are you hungry?" That was the first thing that came to his mind and it seemed to have worked. She looked as if she were pondering this thought very carefully. "I'm hungry," he added. "Let's go out to eat, my treat."  
  
"Uhhh . . . okay . . . but where? We are sort of wet and I'm still in my work clothes," she mentioned.  
  
"How about McDonalds? That's a nice and casual place." Kenshin suggested.  
  
"Works for me. Now that you mention food, I am starting to get hungry."  
  
Leading the way, Kenshin walked toward the door. When he got there, he opened the door and allowed Kaoru to pass him first, like the gentleman he was. He fixed the door to lock and closed it.  
  
---*---  
  
A/N~ XxSilentWolfxX here bringing you the ending author's note. *says like an announcer* We must apologize for the delay; Chibi Okami's laptop broke down on us. *gives the laptop a death glare* So. . . now that you have this nice little chapter here read it! Please. And review! Please again. Oh yeah, and don't worry . . . the romance will pick up (at least if I get it my way) and we will explain the bruises next chapter! Until the next chapter, Ta ta and Happy New Year! 


	4. Chapter Four

Riddle-Master ~ It is my (XxSilentWolfxX) turn to do the beginning author's note. As always, we must give out cookies. *Reaches into hammer space looking for cookies* What?! Hammer space is out of cookies?! OH NO! What will I do?! *thinks* *light bulb goes off* POCKY! *runs downstairs and takes Chibi's stash of pocky and hands it out to all the people who reviewed. They know who they are.*  
  
Chibi ~ *runs after silent with a gigantic sword* DAMN IT! BRING BACK MY POCKY YOU INSUBORDANATE!!! I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND TORTURE YOU TO A SLOW AND PAINFUL DEATH!!!  
  
Silent ~ Oh come on! It's for the reviewers! You got two packs for free and the one I'm handing out I PAID FOR!!! By the way, weren't you supposed to pay me back for that?  
  
Chibi ~ Stop changing the subject! *raises sword* give the pocky back, NOW!!!  
  
Silent ~ I didn't change the subject and I'm not giving it back! The reviewers already have it and that is just plain rude! Get over it! *Takes possession of the sword and beats Chibi with the handle of it* Moving on to the chapter.  
  
Chibi ~ I will get you when I rule the world, just you wait. Now give me my sword back. *swipes sword from Silent and starts to walk away muttering about the dark and gloomy dungeons in which Silent will be living in the future*  
  
Silent ~ She'll rule the word just as soon as penguins start flying.  
  
Chibi ~ In my world penguins already fly!  
  
Silent ~ And this is the next ruler of the world? We're all doomed.  
  
Disclaimer ~ do I really have to say? Did you forget since last chapter? WE DON'T OWN GUNDAM WING!  
  
Shattered Chapter Four  
  
They both walked down the street silently. Neither one could think of anything to say, but both were searching for anything that would strike up a conversation. It had finally stopped raining after about an hour and the pavement was rather slippery. Kaoru kept sliding and was trying her hardest to stay on her feet.  
  
Kaoru had finally thought of something to say. There would be no excuse for him to not answer now. "Where do you work?" she asked innocently.  
  
Kenshin had been staring at his feet and now almost stopped dead in his tracks. He had used so many examples in his past but why couldn't he think of one now. He looked up at Kaoru. He couldn't lie to this girl but he couldn't tell her either. Just then he was saved. Kaoru lost her footing after concentrating so hard on his reply. She hadn't been thinking about where she was walking. She stepped on a really slippery spot and fell backwards into a puddle of murky rainwater. The puddle wasn't deep but it splashed up soaking her outfit and the ends of her long, black hair.  
  
Kenshin had a shocked look on his face. He grabbed her arm and helped her up. As soon as he released her arm, she realized her shoe was stuck in a crack beneath the puddle. She fell forward into his arms. Kenshin bent down to try to help her get her shoe unstuck. Kaoru almost lost her balance a couple of times but always regained it by reaching down to hold on to the red-haired man's shoulder. After several tries, they managed to get her foot loose.  
  
"Thank you." Kaoru said to Kenshin. He smiled and they both starting laughing. The poor girl had just fallen in a puddle and then somehow got her foot stuck in a crack. They both mocked and replayed Kaoru's graceful event in slow motion the rest of the way to McDonalds.  
  
---*---  
  
"Um, I'll have a cheeseburger and fries with a chocolate shake. Kaoru?" Kenshin looked over his shoulder to the girl examining the menu.  
  
"Uh, coke, hamburger and an apple pie." She said carefully.  
  
"Alrighty then, that's all." He began to reach into his pocket to pull out the money when then cashier started to talk in a loud booming voice.  
  
"Would you like another apple pie? It is only one dollar for two."  
  
"Okay then." Kenshin smiled as he began unfolding the bills. "How mu-"  
  
"Would you like fries with your order?"  
  
"We already got fries . . ." Kenshin said unsurely and he played with the bills in his hand.  
  
"Oh right, sorry about that. How about trying our 99 cents value meal today?"  
  
"We're fine." Kenshin did his best to smile as he looked at her.  
  
"I strongly suggest that you add a-" but the cashier was cut off by Karou.  
  
"We'll pass; just get us our order please." She said, a bit harsher than she meant.  
  
"Fine." She turned around with her arms crossed and muttered something about 'rude customers.'  
  
As Kenshin and Kaoru worked their way to the table, they talked about the women that took their order just like third graders talk about who got caught passing notes in class that day. They agreed that she was rather annoying.   
They opened up their bag of food, and starting pulling all of its contents out. Their order was all wrong. There were four apple pies, one hamburger, two orders of fries, a strawberry shakes, and three sprites. They attempted to pile the food back in the bag but because of the fact that nothing ever goes back in the same way it came out. Kenshin ended up balancing everything on top of the bag on the way back up to the counter.   
The same lady they had before came up to the desk. "Can I help you?" she inquired.   
"Yes," Kenshin replied. "Our order is wrong. Can I speak to your manager?"   
"I am the assistant manager, can I help you?"   
"Can I speak to your manager?" he said loudly and clearly.   
"The manager is isn't in, but I am the assistant manager, can I help you?" she said optimistically.   
Kaoru cut in. "Okay!" she said, mocking the girl's optimism. "Our order," he started out happily, "is all wrong," he finished harshly.   
"What is wrong with it?" she asked in her annoying, peppy voice.   
"First of all," she started off, "We ordered one order of fries, not two. Secondly, we wanted two hamburgers; we also only ordered two apple pies. We wanted a chocolate shake, not strawberry, and GEEEZ WOMAN! How much do you think we can drink? Three sprites?"   
"We apologize," the women paused. Kenshin and Kaoru knew this wasn't promising. "But there are no refunds." The woman smiled.   
Kaoru began twitching. "We do not want a refund, we only want our order." She made sure to emphasize the our.   
"I'm sorry," the woman repeated, "but I am not authorized to do that."   
Kenshin could see Kaoru's anger and decided to step in before she killed somebody. "Uhh . . ." he was searching for something to say. "Let's just go Kaoru."   
Kaoru was still enraged. "Fine."  
  
---*---  
  
Kenshin and Kaoru walked down the street in silence. The rain had long since stopped and the street lights lit up the sidewalks. Normally Kaoru would have been afraid of walking down the streets at night without her gun, but with Kenshin there, for some reason, she felt safer than she ever did with her weapons.  
  
She searched for something to break the silence between them, and only one thought ran through her head, and before she even thought about what she was saying it came out. "Damn McDonald's people! Damn them to hell!"  
  
"Miss Kaoru!" Kenshin cried out, obviously shocked the girl had said something like that.  
  
"What?" She looked at him innocently. "Don't even try to tell me it isn't what you were thinking, too! Right?" She looked him directly in the eye causing him to become very nervous very quickly.  
  
"Oro?" He chocked out through her death-glare before he was forced to answer the way she wished. "Hai, Miss Kaoru."  
  
"Kaoru!" the two of them turned around to meet a very unhappy Sano. "What do you think you are doin? You left without saying anything at all."  
  
"Oh, my God! I did!" Kaoru gasped in realization. "I am so sorry! Please don't fire me!"  
  
"You're just lucky the bar was rather empty and I could handle it myself." He tapped his foot. He looked at Kenshin. Could Kenshin be her boyfriend, the reasons for her bruises? He didn't seem like the type, but some people weren't always who they seemed.  
  
---*---  
  
That's all for now! Um . . . yeah, I hope we didn't offend anyone with all of the mcdonald cracks, sorry if you work there! So um, yeah . . . REVIEW!!! And now I must be going, until next time. 


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